Statistics shows that car to car type impacts and car-to-pole-type impacts account for 70 percent and 30 percent of major vehicle side impact accidents, respectively. In addition to FMVSS 214 (North American Dynamic Side Impact Standards) and ECE 95 (European Dynamic Side Impact Standards), which specify the safety requirements for car-to-car side impacts, the automotive industry has proposed regulations to specify the safety requirements for car to pole-type side impacts.
As shown in FIG. 1, car to car type side impact simulations are done under FMVSS and ECE standards by utilizing a moving deformable cart 10 to impact a stationary vehicle 12. This kind of test is referred to as "cart impact" in the auto industry. As shown in FIG. 2, the car-to-pole-type side impact is simulated by impacting a moving vehicle 12 against a stationary pole 14. This test is named "pole impact" in the auto industry. is desirable to provide a side impact sensor system capable of sensing both car to car and car-to-pole-type impacts separately for optimizing side air-bag deployment performance.
It is further desirable to provide a side impact sensor system which will not deploy the side air-bag when such deployment is unnecessary, such as in a shopping cart impact, a door slam, severe road vibration, etc.
It is also desirable to provide such a side impact sensor system in which air-bag deployment is achieved quickly during a side impact.